Q & A for Janet Lawler

Janet Lawler is at Books on the House for Kids and Teens!  Be sure to ENTER TO WIN her new release A Mother’s Song.

BotH:

I’m so happy to feature you here at Books on the House for Kids and Teens!  You’ve written some beautiful books.  How did you get your start as a writer?

Janet:

Thank you very much.  As a little girl, I made cards for family occasions and holidays. Many years later, my first published pieces were three greeting cards! My first children’s short story, “Eating Fish Makes You Smart” (Humpty Dumpty’s magazine, 1994), was based on fun fishing trips with my dad.

The starting point for almost all my work is my childhood, or events involving my own children. My newest book, A Mother’s Song (Sterling, 2010), was inspired by walks with my son, during which I learned to slow my hurried adult pace to share the wonders of nature.

BotH:

You’re a poet, too.  Do you plan on writing a book of poems for children?

Janet:

Funny you should ask! I’ve already written a book of humorous poems, The Secret of Play (and other fun poems). I hope it will be published soon. One of the poems, “Easy as Pie”, is about feeling foolish while trying to catch a Frisbee. It’s up on my web site, at Poem Zone, if you want to take a peek.

BotH:

What advice do you have for kids about pursuing their dreams?

Janet:

I tell kids to keep at it, whatever “it” may be. When I first held a copy of Tyrannoclaus (HarperCollins, 2009), I cried. It represented fifteen years of not giving up, of writing, revising, submitting, believing, and hoping. So those were tears of joy and accomplishment.  I also tell kids to pay attention to their dreams and hopes, and make sure those dreams and hopes stay a big part of their lives. Sometimes kids, and often adults, get too busy and forget they have dreams to pursue.

BotH:

If you could sit down and have an ice cream cone with one children’s book character, who would it be and why?

Janet:

I would share an ice cream cone with Irene, of the picture book Brave Irene, by William Steig, because she certainly deserves a kid’s treat for her acts of courage and kindness! She is such a caring, resourceful and determined little girl and I would love to ask her about what she plans to do when she grows up. I’d also like to take her along on school visits to talk to kids about helping others and overcoming obstacles to reach a goal.

BotH:

What project are you working on next?

Janet:

A humorous picture book featuring baseball and dogs. I can’t tell you more, since it is still in the brainstorming stage. I’m also working on a fun early-chapter series about a first-grade boy whose big imagination often gets him into trouble at school.

BotH:

Janet, it’s been fun chatting with you!  Hope you will come back again!

Janet:

Thank you!